Some semiconductor devices employ a high-K dielectric material (relative to SiO2) as a gate dielectric to achieve a desired equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) for the device. The high-K dielectric material may provide a film that is sufficiently thick to avoid undesirable leakage while providing other desirable electrical properties. However, forming a high-K dielectric material directly on some substrates may lead to interactions between the substrate and the high-K dielectric material that may undesirably alter device performance.